Books Received | The BoSS for 24/07/11

Well would you look at that: it seems to be ladies' day here on The BoSS, with five wonderful-looking new books received for review from five very promising female authors! And people complain that women don't get a look in...

Then again, would I have thought to say it was men's day if the proverbial pump were on the other foot? I think not, no... hmm.

While we're hmming, why don't we see what some of the good ladies of genre fiction have to offer this fine day?

***

Two Worlds and In Between: The

Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan (Volume One)

by You-Know-Who

Vital Statistics

Published in the US

on 31/08/11

by Subterranean Press

Review Priority

5 (A Sure Thing)

The Blurb: Caitlin R. Kiernan's short fiction was first published in 1995. Over the intervening decade and a half, she has proven not only one of dark fantasy and science fiction's most prolific and versatile authors, but, to quote Ramsey Campbell, "One of the most accomplished writers in the field, and very possibly the most lyrical." S. T. Joshi has written, "Kiernan's witchery of words creates a mesmerizing effect that we haven't seen since the days of Lovecraft and Bradbury."

Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan (Volume One) presents a stunning retrospective of the first ten years of her work, a compilation of more than two hundred thousand words of short fiction, including many of her most acclaimed stories, as well as some of the author's personal favorites, several previously uncollected, hard-to-find pieces, and her sf novella, The Dry Salvages, and a rare collaboration with Poppy Z. Brite. Destined to become the definitive look at the early development of Kiernan's work, Two Worlds and In Between is a must for fans and collectors alike, as well as an unprecedented introduction to an author who, over the course of her career, has earned the praise of such luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, Charles De Lint, and Clive Barker.

My Thoughts: A little (personal) history lesson, before we begin: I've followed the course of Caitlin R. Kiernan's career ever since Silk came out in 1998, when I was but a miserable little Scotch goth. In that time, there have been ups, and there have been downs. I've found, for instance, that reading any two or more of Kiernan's novels back-to-back is rather a Bad Idea. The repetition of themes and ideas starts to wear one out; the recurrence of dreams inside of nightmares as if that were in any sense the same thing as resolution takes its toll.

In fact I'd imagined myself pretty much done with Caitlin R. Kiernan after one such literary binge... and then The Red Tree came along - not so very different at all, but different enough - to remind me of so much of what I once loved about her body of work. So it should be interesting, to say the least, to see how well some of this criminally unappreciated author's best-remembered short stories hold up, not least versus my own memory of them. Given how extensively Kiernan tends to edit her earlier work whenever the opportunity arises, I should imagine Two World and In Between will be as new to me as is nostalgic.


Now my review, when it's written, will be for Strange Horizons rather than The Speculative Scotsman. That said, if there's enough interest, I'm sure I could put together a Short Fiction Corner or something for you all in the interim?

The Somnambulist

by Essie Fox

Vital Statistics

Published in the UK

on 26/05/11

by Orion

Review Priority

3 (We'll See)

The Blurb: 'Some secrets are better left buried...'

When seventeen-year old Phoebe Turner visits Wilton's Music Hall to watch her Aunt Cissy performing on stage, she risks the wrath of her mother Maud who marches with the Hallelujah Army, campaigning for all London theatres to close. While there, Phoebe is drawn to a stranger, the enigmatic Nathaniel Samuels who heralds dramatic changes in the lives of all three women. When offered the position of companion to Nathaniel's reclusive wife, Phoebe leaves her life in London's East End for Dinwood Court in Herefordshire - a house that may well be haunted and which holds the darkest of truths.

In a gloriously gothic debut, Essie Fox weaves a spellbinding tale of guilt and deception, regret and lost love. 

My Thoughts: Gosh, but I do appreciate a little spooky Victoriana from time to time, and what was the last such novel I read? The Anatomy of Ghosts? Was it really so long ago as that?


Well, I'm late to this particular party, too. But coming to The Somnambulist a couple months after its initial release, at least I come bearing in mind the goodwill that's greeted Essie Fox's first novel. Wouldn't want to waste my bi-annual indulgence on a disappointment, now would I? The Somnambulist looks to be anything but.

Mechanique: A Tale of
the Circus Tresaulti

by Genevieve Valentine

Vital Statistics

Published in the UK

on 10/05/11

by Prime Books

Review Priority

5 (A Sure Thing)

The Blurb: Come inside and take a seat; the show is about to begin...

Outside any city still standing, the Mechanical Circus Tresaulti sets up its tents. Crowds pack the benches to gawk at the brass-and-copper troupe and their impossible feats: Ayar the Strong Man, the acrobatic Grimaldi Brothers, fearless Elena and her aerialists who perform on living trapezes. War is everywhere, but while the Circus is performing, the world is magic. That magic is no accident: Boss builds her circus from the bones out, molding a mechanical company that will survive the unforgiving landscape.

But even a careful ringmaster can make mistakes. Two of Tresaulti's performers are entangled in a secret standoff that threatens to tear the circus apart just as the war lands on their doorstep. Now the Circus must fight a war on two fronts: one from the outside, and a more dangerous one from within.

My Thoughts: I love the circus, me. And I love a good story, of course. So what better alchemy, then, than a good story about the circus?

Geek Love, anyone? 

Anyway, Mechanique is Genevieve Valentine's first novel, but I've actually read some of her short fiction already - some short fiction related to this Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, come to that - and found therein the glimmers of what could be an incredible talent. It remains to be seen just what Valentine might make of the longer form, but I've very high hopes.

The House of Discarded Dreams

by Ekaterina Sedia

Vital Statistics

Published in the UK

on 01/09/11

by Prime Books

Review Priority

4 (Pretty Bloody Likely)

The Blurb: Trying to escape her embarrassing immigrant mother, Vimbai moves into a dilapidated house in the dunes... and discovers that one of her new room-mates has a pocket universe instead of hair, there's a psychic energy baby living in the telephone wires, and her dead Zimbabwean grandmother is doing dishes in the kitchen. When the house gets lost at sea and creatures of African urban legends all but take it over, Vimbai turns to horseshoe crabs in the ocean to ask for their help in getting home to New Jersey.
 

My Thoughts: And from one tremendously promising new-to-me novelist to another, courtesy the very same publisher: Prime Books.

Ekaterina Sedia is a name I've heard spoken of in hushed whispers as often as ungodly shouts, and though I've never read her before myself, the word from those bloggers whose judgement I trust is that I might have a real treat ahead of me here. The House of Discarded Dreams sounds absolutely batty, but sometimes that's exactly what the doctor ordered. Here's hoping!

The Necklace of the Gods

by Alison Goodman

Vital Statistics

Published in the UK

on 26/05/11

by Bantam Press

Review Priority

3 (We'll See)

The Blurb: Once she was Eon, a girl disguised as a boy, risking her life for the chance to become a Dragoneye apprentice. Now she is Eona, thrust into the role of her country’s saviour.

But Eona has an even more dangerous secret — she cannot control her power. When she tries to bond with her Mirror Dragon, the anguish of the ten spirit beasts whose Dragoneyes were murdered surges through her. The result: a killing force that destroys everything before it. On the run from High Lord Sethon’s army, Eona and her friends must help the Pearl Emperor, Kygo, wrest back his throne. Everyone is relying on Eona’s power. Can she face her own darkness within, and drive a dangerous bargain with an old enemy? A wrong move could obliterate them all.

Against a thrilling backdrop of explosive combat, ruthless power struggles and exotic lore, Eona is the gripping story of a remarkable warrior who must find the strength to walk a deadly line between truth and justice. Full of pulse-racing drama, heart-stirring romance, dazzling fight scenes, and myriad surprises, The Necklace of the Gods brings this extraordinarily imagined and exciting fantasy epic to a resounding climax.

My Thoughts: Sequel to The Two Pearls of Wisdom - which (wouldn't you know it) I also have a review copy of - The Necklace of the Gods isn't, I'll admit, a book I would have looked twice at before. But that was before. And I was pretty much blown away by Queen of Kings. This pseudo-historical series excites much the same appetite in me.

On the other hand, nice as it is to have a complete duology on hand to indulge in whenever I might fancy a story told from start to finish, I have to wonder if Alison Goodman might not come a cropper in the comparison with Maria Dahvana Headley. Certainly there are Amazon reviewers who've come away from this concluding volume disappointed. One writes: "I don't think I have ever read such a compellingly written book (or series) with such an appalling ending." And keen as I am, that makes me nervous.


Anyone else read these?

***

Oh, good show! I don't know that there's been a stronger week of The BoSS all year. Coincidence? Actually, no, I don't think it is.

But we'll save that chat for another day. Meantime, what would your picks be from the excellent selection on offer today? Or is there something else - something I've missed - that's been occupying your every thought? Do tell...

Till next time, then!